Fractured Archive solo: can you do it, and what team size is best?

Can you solo the Fractured Archive in OSRS?

Yes, you can enter The Fractured Archive alone, but the raid never scales below two players. A solo run faces the same boss hitpoints as a duo, with nobody to split the mechanics. Jagex itself calls solo clears “very challenging” and recommends teams of 3 to 5. This guide covers how scaling works, what each team size changes in loot and risk, and how to pick a group. For the full raid overview, start with our Fractured Archive guide.

Can you solo the Fractured Archive?

Technically, yes. In the official “Everything You Need To Know” post, Jagex says the raid “scales between 2 to 8 players” and that solo scaling is set to two players, which is more lenient than Theatre of Blood (where solo counts as three). Even so, Jagex compares soloing the Archive to soloing Theatre of Blood: a long-term, aspirational challenge rather than a normal way to farm it.

Jagex also explains why there is no true solo scale. Many rooms are built so that different players handle different jobs at the same time. Designing for one player would water those mechanics down or leave one person doing the work while the rest only hit the boss, which the team tried to avoid. In practice, a solo player has to handle every role alone at duo hitpoints.

How scaling works

Boss hitpoints scale with the number of players in the raid, with a floor of two. According to the OSRS Wiki strategy page, each player after the second adds about 43.6% more boss HP. Xarth is a good example:

Players	Xarth hitpoints
1	2,600
2	2,600
3	3,770
4	4,860
5	5,950
6	7,050
7	8,140
8	9,230

Source: OSRS Wiki, Xarth. For the fight itself, see our Xarth guide.

Loot by team size

Jagex published the loot rules on November 3 in the Quest Month and TFA tweaks post. Every room is worth 100 contribution (Ocellus is worth 300), split by the damage each player deals. At the end, the team rolls a base 1 in 14 for a unique, and your share of the team’s contribution decides whose name it lands in. Each player beyond the second adds a multiplicative 4% to the team’s chance:

Team size	Team unique chance	Approx. odds
2	7.14%	1 in 14.00
3	7.43%	1 in 13.46
4	7.71%	1 in 12.96
5	8.00%	1 in 12.50
6	8.29%	1 in 12.07
7	8.57%	1 in 11.67
8	8.86%	1 in 11.29

Bigger teams see slightly more purples per raid, but each one is split among more people. Jagex said it will look at this in the next week’s balancing changes, so these numbers may move. Unique weights and the rest of the loot details are in our November 3 update article.

Deaths and wipes at small scales

• Deaths cost contribution: each death removes 10% of your expected contribution. In a duo, expected contribution is 350 out of 700, so one death costs 35.
• Wipes end the run: if the whole team dies, you are removed from the Archive and get a normal gravestone in the lobby. Solo, any death is a wipe.
• Hardcore accounts: deaths inside the raid are not safe, and HCIM or HCGIM lose their status.
• No banking inside: there is no Overload equivalent and no way to bank mid-raid. A Quartermaster arrives after the third boss with a points-based resupply that depends on your performance so far.

Duo, trio or a full team?

Jagex’s own advice is to play at the scale you find fun. Here is how the options compare, based on the official post:

• Solo: duo hitpoints, every mechanic on you, every death is a wipe. Only for players who already know all the rooms.
• Duo: the lowest real scale. Hard while learning, but Jagex says duos start “racking up clears” once both players know the fights.
• 3 to 5 players: the recommended range. Enough people to cover each room’s roles without anyone feeling idle.
• 6 to 8 players: supported, with slightly better team odds, but more boss HP and a smaller share of each room for you.

Route choices for small teams

After the Archive Guardian, you pick one of two doors for the next three bosses: Ezekiel or Bork and the Smorks, then Moia or Dreadnoth the Jellied, then Xarth or the Dagon’hai trio, before Ocellus. Jagex balanced each pairing to give the same total contribution, so the choice does not change your loot chance. For a small team, pick the side that fits your gear and the mechanics you handle best. Since October 28, offensive stat reduction is capped at 50% on Ocellus, Xarth and Dreadnoth.

How to practice before trying low scales

Practice Mode was not live at launch. Once Jagex turns it on, you can retry any boss, or any phase of a boss, that you have already reached in a real raid. Supplies are refunded and you can bring friends. It is the safest way to drill a fight before taking it into a duo or solo run. Until then, the lobby lets you spectate other parties, as long as they did not turn spectators off on the grouping board.

The OSRS Wiki suggests around 95 Hitpoints, 90 Attack, 95 Strength, 75 Defence, 95 Ranged and 75 Magic, plus completion of While Guthix Sleeps to enter. New to the game? Our OSRS beginner’s guide covers the basics, and every OSRS page on the site is listed on the Old School RuneScape hub.

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Sources

• The Fractured Archive: Everything You Need To Know, Jagex.
• Quest Month Kick-Off, TFA Tweaks & More, Jagex (November 3, 2026).
• Halloween Event 2026, TFA Tweaks & More, Jagex (October 28, 2026).
• The Fractured Archive and Strategies, OSRS Wiki.